In the first six months of 2013, the number of Tuscarawas County residents obtaining a license to carry a concealed weapon was about double the total for all of 2012.

Lt. Lon McEnroe handles the permit process for the Tuscarawas County Sheriff’s Office. He said that through June 30, a total of 832 applications were received. He said 415 applications were received in calendar year 2012.

All but five this year were approved. Of those, a report was sent to the county prosecutor for charges against two men because they failed to disclose a criminal conviction that would disqualify them from obtaining a permit.

The state’s CCW program allows people to carry a concealed handgun in certain places so long as they are at least 21 years old, clear a background check, apply with the county sheriff and complete a 12-hour training course certified by a National Rifle Association or Ohio Peace Officer Training Association instructor. The course must include two hours of live-fire practice. Ohio has reciprocity agreements with nearly 30 other states.

In Tuscarawas County, applicants go to the sheriff’s office in New Philadelphia to be fingerprinted.

“We do the cards here when they come in,” McEnroe said. “We take a photo of them, get their signatures and input all of the information into the computer system. Next, I conduct the background checks. When that’s all finished, we call the person to come pick up the CCW permit.”

He said Ohio law allows 45 days to complete the permit process, but it usually takes only up to two weeks in Tuscarawas County.

Hours are posted on the Sheriff’s Office website.

“Usually, on the days we’re handling the permit applications, we maintain a pretty steady pace,” McEnroe said of the volume of applicants.

McEnroe has handled the CCW permit process since it started. Although he doesn’t keep statistics regarding the demographics of applicants, such as gender and age group, he said that “quite a few — probably half — of them are women.”

“Usually they don’t say much about their reason for wanting a CCW — just that they want to use it for protection of themselves and others, that’s pretty much it,” McEnroe said.

Todd Dennison also is seeing increased activity at his A&P Gear Co. at 161 N. Broadway in downtown New Philadelphia.

“It’s quite a variety,” he said about customers. “It can be someone who’s 21 and never had a firearm, to very experienced people.”

Although his company doesn’t offer CCW training, he works closely with Kim Hobart of Hobart’s CCW Training of Tuscarawas County.

At A&P, participants don’t use a real gun. Instead, they use a laser system gun, a version of a Glock 9-mm handgun.

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“It’s nonlethal, so they can make a mistake and not hurt or kill someone or themselves accidentally,” Dennison said.

A customer’s understanding and ability determine the starting point. It can be as basic as properly getting the gun in and out of its holster. “You want to be sure they don’t have a finger on the trigger, and that the gun is pointed in a safe direction,” he said.

“We don’t skip over anything until we feel the person is qualified to move beyond that step,” he said. “We model the training to their level of experience.”

Dennison believes that some of the soaring demand for CCW permits is from “people who feel that they would be helpless if their family was attacked. There’s heightened awareness after the shootings at schools, theaters and workplaces. Some people believe that if a potential assailant is warned and sees the gun, they’ll back down.

“I think that what it comes down to is that as Americans, our freedom gives us the opportunity to do right or wrong. Each individual has responsibility. At A&P, I try to stress not to take that lightly. A person has a lot of power with a vehicle, if you’re not careful, you can kill people. It’s the same with a firearm. People respect and fear a weapon, and they should.”

He advocates even more safety training.

“You have to have hours of supervised experience before you get your driver’s license,” he said. “I consider it the same for getting a gun. Some people feel that is an infringement, but my opinion is that you want the people with a CCW permit to be properly trained in safety.

“And it should be ongoing. School teachers, and many other professionals, are required to get continuing education updates. It makes sense that a person handling firearms should be able to show competency and safety.”

Numbers reported to the Ohio Attorney General’s Office from county sheriffs statewide showed that for the first six months of this year, 63,481 new licenses were issued. In 2012, a total of 64,650 new licenses were issued. With the exception of 2012, the 63,481 new licenses issued in the first six months of 2013 were more than in any single calendar year since concealed carry permits began being issued in 2004.